Background on Families & Children

When Democrats discuss family values, they mean economic issues, and perhaps censorship issues, like those below.

When Republicans discuss family values, they mean a more general concept of traditional American society, hinting at:

Traditional roles for women versus men

Traditional marriage over same-sex marriage

Traditional child-rearing concepts like encouraging abstinence

Pro-life and pro-adoption.

In the 2016 elections, the concept of "Latino family values" may play an important role in the Republican primaries.
Numerous surveys support that Latinos support the Republican definition of traditional family values, yet they vote overwhelmingly Democratic in presidential elections.
Some Republicans, especially Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), have both focused on how to reach Latinos on grounds of shared family values, to overcome the demographic problem of the overwhelming Democratic vote.

Child Deductions & Tax Credits

The 1997 Tax Relief Act established a per-child tax credit of $400 for 1998, increasing to $500 for 1999.
In 2015, the per-child tax credit is as high as $1,000.

In addition, the 1990s tax code allowed for a deduction of $2,650 per dependent child.
In 2015, the per-child tax deduction is $3,950.

Candidates focus on the social effects of those tax policies as well as deductions for day-care, pre-school, after-school, and others.

Some candidates instead focus on how corporations can support families via Family Leave, Flex-Time, and so on.

Internet Smut, V-Chip & TV Ratings

Internet filters are intended to prohibit children from seeing Internet-based pornography, based on parameters that parents can set up.

The ‘V-Chip’ and other ‘choice chips’ allow similar parental oversight of television programs.

Television programs, music CDs, video games, and other forms of entertainment may soon carry ratings similar to those in cinemas today (which are voluntarily established by the movie industry).